In the heat of battle
by girlcalledsun
Summary: Kel is at New Hope, doing little but paperwork, feeling restless, and can't help but daydream of a blueeyed sergeant...but not for long, the war continues and situations will change. The final chapter up!
1. Chapter 1

**The usual disclaimer, that none of the character are not mine.**

**Not only a Kel/Dom, but a post LK fic as well; I hope this is a little different, though. **

**In the heat of battle…**

It was the spring after she had killed Blayce, the Nothing Man. The summer of that battle had merged into autumn, time flying as New Hope was built and made strong against any further attack. Raoul and Buri's wedding at Steadfast had marked the shift of seasons into winter, and then the long cold months had been spent quietly. Kel had spent the brief daylight hours continuing her young charges' weapon training, and the long northern winter nights lost in paperwork. The supply lists, rotas, reports and so on filled her candle lit evenings, occasionally in the company of Neal, or Merric, but often she whiled away the time alone, her thoughts wandering from the dry words and impartial numbers…

Those thoughts most often wandered in the direction of a certain blue-eyed sergeant. Kel had always valued the friendship of Domitan of Masbolle, even whilst she nursed an unrequited crush for him throughout her squire years with Sir Raoul and the rest of the King's Own. His easy charm and good looks had always been obvious, but after their excursion to Scanra, his trust and belief in her became clearly apparent. Her mind drifted in his direction tonight, reliving, not for the first time, some conversations and just the one dance they had shared at Steadfast that Autumn.

"Kel, it's been a pleasure." He had looked straight in her eyes, and smiled warmly, as they had parted after that waltz, the last of the evening. Kel remembered how her heart had lurched under that sapphire gaze, and an echo of that feeling passed through her at just the memory. She watched the candle flame flicker in a draught, and wondered how it could feel as if her stomach and heart could temporarily swap places when their associated plumbing should make it impossible. She grinned to herself, and tried to get her mind to bear down on the fiddly rota she was trying, in vain, to get to work out.

The quiet in her own upstairs room did not seems to help. Her thoughts just rattled round her head, louder and louder, like leaves in the winter wind outside. She could scarely admit it to herself, but all that filled her mind was Dom, and she couldn't focus her mind on work. Her mind seemed split in two; the dutiful, hardworking Kel, who did her duty on one side, and, growing stronger, a restless, prickly Kel, who could think of nothing but her emotions and desired nothing but action.

"There is needed work," she told her restless side, "I need to organise New Hope."

"Pah!" her wild side said, "It could run itself now, you are a knight, a combat knight, or so you tell yourself, but what are you doing?"

"My duty." The good Kel stated.

"Who are you trying to convince? Training children and pushing paper, daydreaming of Dom; do you know what you are becoming?"

"You will tell me" Kel growled to herself, already knowing the answer.

"A desk knight".

Neal heard a crash from upstairs in the command block, clear above the whistle of the gale outside and crackle of the small fire in the downstairs office.

"What on earth was that?" he asked Merric. The red headed knight put down his mug of tea, and pushed a hank of red hair out of his eyes.

"Kel's upstairs, isn't she?" he asked quietly. The two young knight's eye's met for a second, than parted. They had both noticed the growing restlessness in the lady knight over the winter, and were worried. Tobe, hidden in the corner, had noticed both his lady's mood, and the worry of her two closest friends. He slipped unnoticed out of the office as the young men uncomfortably wondered if they should go and ask Kel if she was okay.

Tobe knew Lady Kel was frustrated at New Hope, frustrated with her charges and duties at the refugee camp. His lady was a woman of action; she would take on any task, work her way through any orders; had she not set out to rescue 500 civilians with only herself, a glaive, and a collection of animals? She had succeeded, too, he reminded himself, as he climbed the last few steps to Kel's door. What Lady Kel couldn't deal with was having no job to do. Between her own skills, in setting up the camp so it almost ran itself these days, and the any remaining Scanran forays halted by the snows, she had little to do save paperwork. He knew she was frustrated, quiet even for her. He thought she was lonely, under her Yamani mask. Tobe listened closely at the door for any further crashes, and raised his small fist to rap politely at the door. As his knuckles wavered over the wood, a new noise cut through the night; a horn calling the alert. The door flew open in front of him and Kel stormed past; Tobe flattened himself in her wake as she ran down the stairs. He thought maybe, now, his Lady would have something to do with herself. He stole a glance into her room before he trotted down the stairs after her, and amended his thought. Something to do besides demolishing her furniture by hand, that is….


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to those of you who have read this fic, and especially Marlee Greenwich and x17SKmBdrchiczxx for their reviews; enjoy!**

Kel, Neal, and Merric gathered round the command room table, which was strewn with maps, mugs of cooling tea, and uppermost in the piles of paper, the urgent missive the messenger had ridden hard through the winter night to deliver. Its news was brief, grim, and to the point.

"I can't believe Frasrlund is close to falling." Merric tapped he table with calloused fingertips. "That siege has been a stalemate for months…why are the tables turning now?

"There is mention of a sickness amongst the troops," Neal mentioned quietly. "It can happen all too easily, when they've been encamped in one place for so long. It's something unusual here, though, a raging fever, a wet cough, sores on the lips and in the mouth, followed quickly by death. Healers can do little. They wonder if it might be magical, in part." Neal looked grim, lips pressed tight and graceful brows furrowed. "My father told me about the Sweating Sickness that Duke Rodger of Conte created. If this _is_ created by a mage…." he paused. That Neal was lost for words stated how serious the situation was more eloquently than anything he might say.

"They ask for what reinforcements can be spared from elsewhere. And, Kel, they specifically reqest for you and me to go if we can, and Merric to command here if we both go to Frasrlund. What do you think?"

Kel had been nearly silent over the past hour, in the midst of the bustle of news and the speculation of her companions. Part of her thought there were few enough knights, mages and troops at New Hope as it was. The wild part, that called the other part a desk knight and bayed for battle and action, said differently. For the first time in ages, maybe even in her life, Kel listened to her wild side.

"I'm going." She stated blankly. "Neal, you can come if you like, a healer will be welcomed. They may discover new ways for you to fight this sickness." She pulled a scrap of parchment close and began to make a list. "The convict soldiers will stay here, I don't think they'd care to leave New Hope. The refugees can well enough take care of themselves at present. Neal and I will travel to Steadfast to report to Raoul tomorrow; the message says he's leading the relief train." Kel's worry at the situation evaporated in an instant; Steadfast and Raoul meant Dom, too, with any luck. Her throat clenched and she felt a little sick. Far fetched daydreams were one thing, but the imminent prospect of seeing him again was quite another. She forced her mind, with difficulty, back to the task in hand. "Merric, here's your chance to be free of mother and have command."

"This is it, isn't it, Kel?" The red headed knight asked quietly from the other side of the table. He had seen her green-hazel eyes lose their concentration for a second at the mention of Steadfast, and, he guessed, at the thought of who else might be there. He had had his suspicions for a while now. "You've been dragging your heels here for a few months now. You need to go."

"Yes." Kel replied simply. "The camp really can do without me now, my job's over. I need to be busy. I need to be useful." She met Merric's eyes for the first time that night, and a wavering smile touched her full lips. "I don't want to leave them, but I know you'll take care of my people, Merric." He gulped and returned her eye contact.

"With my sword and my life, Lady Knight." Merric said with intensity. He forced a smile to his face, determined to lighten the mood. "Sir Meathead will never let you go haring off on your own, though."

Neal looked up, and stopped pulling his hands frantically through his hair.

"Do I have no choice in my own destiny? Do you ruffians think I wish for nothing more than blood thirsty battle?" he asked, stalling for time to think. He wished Yuki was here, but he would rather she was far away from a magical disease from which he could not defend her.

"Neal." Kel asked quietly, cutting through his thoughts. "Will you come to Frasrlund with me?" She met his frantic eyes with a steely intensity. Kel could only be thinking of her duty and the battle ahead. The realisation cleared Neal's mind, helped him focus. He was not completely correct.

"Of course I will, Kel," he said. "You're right, I can be more use there than here. Though heading off to nearly certain death with you under _official _orders will be something of a novelty."

With that pronouncement, the mood really did lift. The three young knights laughed together, and began to prepare plans for the morning. None of them knew that the others' minds where not entirely on the job. Merric worried about his first full command. Neal had his ever-present longing for Yuki. Kel tried, but increasingly was failing, to suppress mounting excitement at both the prospect of action, and the prospect of seeing Dom. None of them wondered, as they parted for the night, when might be the next time, if ever, they might plan and chat together again.

**Now the scene is set, the next chapters will have action and maybe I'll get the romance going...remember, reviews mean faster updates! aaa**


	3. Chapter 3

**There was a slight edit of Chapter 2, on some sterling advice about Kel's character, but it doesn't change the thread of the story. Now, a little action and the first appearance of a certain sergeant… **

Neal and Kel rode in companionable silence. Tobe had stayed at New Hope; Kel extracted promises of good behaviour and, seeing iron in her eyes, Tobe had obeyed without argument. Peachblossom trudged through the heavy mud of the road, sparrows perched on his mane, Hoshi following on a lead rein, loaded with packs. Neal came next on his new mare, Petal. She was a delicate, compact bay, a little small for a war horse, with a long, fine black mane and forelock. These features had put Neal in mind of his betrothed, hence the name ("Her beauty is a such that she could be an equine petal of my Yamani blossom!" Neal had proclaimed. "Don't you mean a 'chip off the old block?'" Merric had asked dryly). Kel wasn't sure if Yuki knew Neal had named a horse after her, but fairly sure she didn't ever want to see her Yamani friend's reaction about it. The landscape was bleak, dominated by scarred battle fields, any vegetation in shades of brown and grey after months being pounded by rain, snow and wind of the north.

"Bleak, isn't it?" Neal asked as they crested a hill and looked down into the valley that led down to Steadfast. "Spring'll be here in weeks, but you'd never guess." Kel nodded in reply, eyes searching the distance ahead.

"Looks clear." She said. "Clear, Nari?" The sparrow chirped her acquiescence, and the small party proceeded, slipping a little in the wet, rutted track. Neal decided to broach a delicate subject whilst Kel was occupied with the underfoot conditions.

"Kel, I wanted to ask you…on the mission into Scanra, and setting up Haven and then New Hope from scratch, you, well, you didn't enjoy it, but you did it with energy, with enthusiasm, I suppose. Just lately, though, all the duties, you do them to the best of your ability, but they seems like a chore to you. You're fidgety, unsettled, I can see you hiding behind your Yamani face. I just wanted to ask…are you ok?" The road was dropping quickly now, and they began to pass a small wood on their left. Neal muttered a curse under his breath as Petal slithered a little, but still looked up at Kel for an answer.

Kel sighed. Either Neal was getting more perceptive or she was more obvious than she had thought. "I feel a like I've done everything I set out to do; I'm a knight, I got rid of Blayce, I have command, I have respect from people like Lord Wyldon."

"Grudging respect." Neal corrected.

"Maybe, but I earned it. And I wonder…what's next? I've done a lot in twenty years… what do I do now?"

"Well, Kel…" Neal started.

But she never got to hear his answer, because as Nari peeped an alarm, there was a crash of branches and some fur clad, rough bearded Scanrans appeared on their left.

They almost ran straight into Kel and Neal, as the two young knights swung weapons into place. Kel sliced down quickly with her glaive, opening the neck of a huge blond man. Peachblossom danced sideways in the muck under foot, cutting an escape route off from another two Scanrans. He reared to strike one, whilst Kel reversed the glaive and pulled it in an upwards arc, gutting a man before he could bring his sword down. Meanwhile, Petal was proving her worth, pivoting quickly to present Neal's sword hand to the enemy; he cut and stabbed with skill and strength, face set and grim. More Scanrans rushed from the wood, shock on their faces as they saw the armed knights and their fallen compatriots. The shock only lasted a second, though, as arrows thudded with deadly accuracy into their bodies. Even as they fell, horsemen became apparent through the bare hazel branches of the copse; the uniforms were not immediately identifiable, being the moss greens and dull browns of camouflage gear. The faces were another matter, however. Kel smiled, a thrill of pleasure replacing the cool calculation of battle. Wolset led the group, and, recognition lighting up his mud spattered face and blue eyes, was the squad's sergeant, Domitan of Masbolle.

"We wouldn't have chased so hard if we knew there were two trusty knights waiting to finish off those raiders for us!" Dom called as the warriors of the King's Own all emerged from the trees. "Wolset," he added, "ensure this area is secure, scout back to Steadfast, but I think we're ok." As the corporal bustled off, Dom swung off his horse and turned back to the knights.

"How are you, cousin?" Neal asked, dismounting and walking over to hug the other man. "Keeping busy, I see."

"Meathead, it's good to see you, even if I do have to listen to you as well." He looked up at Kel, still gazing down from Peachblossom's back. "And good to see you as well, Keladry." He smiled up at her.

_Gods, thought Kel, stop thinking about throwing yourself off Peachblossom, and in Dom's general direction. Say something sensible!_

"Hi, Dom." _Oh, really witty. _As Kel felt a blush begin to rise up her neck, Wolset trotted up.

"All secure, sergeant." He reported.

"Right. I'd advise heading back to Steadfast quickly." Dom said to the knights, as Kel composed herself. "It's early for raiding parties, but that wasn't the first. And Sir Raoul will be pleased to see you two, he'll want to talk. He didn't want to be obvious about recalling you both, but since you are here…it makes life easier." Neal and Kel both saw the shadow of worry cross Dom's face, and without further delay, the knights and the squad headed down the road. Kel took up the rear after she retrieved Hoshi, and wondered what news Raoul had that made Dom look so grim. Her worry even touched her pleasure at seeing him, and seeing the warmth in his eyes as he greeted her. She would be glad when they were all behind Steadfast's heavy walls, and there was a chance to find out exactly what was going on…

**Thank you again to all who have reviewed and alerted this story, it means a lot. aaa**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you so much, again, for all the reviews!**

Kel wondered how much of warfare was conducted in small rooms like these, full of earnest men and piles of paper, deciding where and how other men should fight, should die. Raoul looked older, last summer's battles and the hard winter etching new lines round his dark eyes, tracing lines of silver in his black curls. A sombre Buri sat next to him, their hands unashamedly clasped. Flyndon was thinner. Neal, stubborn, unsubtle Neal, seemed more mature and steady. Kel herself felt curiously alive; impatient for action. _These people have family, loved ones to lose, and they fear it, _she mused. _I have only myself; I've shaped my body and life to become a knight. It's not what I do, it's what I am, all I am. I long to fight. _Her blood fizzed in her veins, its tingling reached her fingers, her toes, the sensation buzzed in her lips…

With that, the door opened and two men walked in. The first, a tall middle aged man with clever hazel eyes she knew as Sir George Cooper of Pirate's Swoop. Any thoughts of the secret news or plans the King's Spymaster might carry were forgotten as Dom entered the room. Her fizzing blood fled back from her extremities to her core, so she thought for a second her pounding heart might burst. Kel watched Dom's tall form move easily across the room, fold gracefully in a chair opposite her. He caught her eye for a second, grinned. _Oh, Kel, what else do you long for?_ the wild part of her asked wistfully.

"Right, everyone." Raoul spoke clearly and quietly to the little group of fighters. "Now George is here, we can begin this briefing." He nodded towards Alanna the Lioness' husband.

"Thankin' you, Raoul." George didn't stand, but sat back from the table and cast his eyes over everyone present, though he knew their full attention would be guaranteed soon enough. "My news is from various agents, from captured Scanrans, from Daine's wondrous animals, and, just lately, from deductions made by Lindhall Reed, Harailt of Aili and Duke Baird." He nodded at Neal as he mentioned the young knight's father. "You all know of the sickness affectin' Frasrlund, that's a fact. You'll all have heard that it's magically created disease, I know how soldiers gossip. Well, it ain't. It's worse."

At that pronouncement worried looks shot across the table, bouncing back and forth. Dom looked at Neal, his lips pressed in a bloodless line, then across to Kel. She seemed to shine in the dim candle light, like there was so much energy within her it caused her skin to glow. She'd never looked like that before; or if she had, he hadn't noticed.

"It's a naturally occurring disease of animals which has been magically altered to increase its deadliness, and to affect humans. Lindhall knew the signs as similar to a mild disease of Northern reindeer calves; Mosswater Fever. It doesn't kill, the deer get over the cough in a week or two, and the sores only develop in the worst cases. Harailt and Baird found the connection between the animal fever and the disease of the soldiers, and how it was altered."

"So it seems Blayce wasn't the only mage under King Maggot's banner." Flyn said grimly, his eyes flicking across at Kel.

"No, indeed." Raoul said. "But this isn't why George is here to speak to us alone. Go on."

"Raoul's right. The healers at the University have a cure in the pipeline, and fit soldiers don't die from Battle Fever - as they've called it." George added dryly. "This is absolutely secret, what I'm about to tell ye all." He paused again. "All our intelligence suggests that Frasrlund has been a test run. The disease is carried in water, and Frasrlund is a city, pressed full of humans, surrounded by water. Look what it's done there. Maggur is fair delighted, so it seems. His thoughts have moved south. Now, who can think of another city with its own river?"

"The Olorun," breathed Kel, "Corus!" She hadn't realised she'd spoken aloud.

"The Lady Knight is correct, to our reckonin'. There will be a Scanran party, headin' through Tortall in deep cover, to infect our capital."

"And we're going to stop them. Corus is full of children, older folks. There will be countless deaths." Raoul stated. "An mission like this needs special handling, we can't just send a whole company crashing through the countryside. Intelligence suggests it'll be a small enemy group, so what we need is are some soldiers from squads practised in deep cover fighting;" at this nodded at Dom, squeezed his wife's hand, "a healer;" Neal got a smile, "and a proven commander with experience and success in covert operations." All eyes were now on Kel.

"Me?" She managed to say. She looked round the serious faces, faces full of seriousness and trust and belief. Well, Flyn's was maybe just serious. Kel ground her hands into tight fists, schooled her face to stillness. "You know I will do all I can, and more. I can't let them do this."

Buri spoke for the first time. "We know, Kel. You won't be alone this time, though. Her smile almost touched her dark eyes. "We will set off with you, tomorrow morning, so as to brief you all more fully as we ride. The Riders on this mission are travelling West from the City of the Gods, we should rendezvous with them by tomorrow afternoon."

"Maggur knows the war is lost, bar the shoutin'. But what will winnin' matter to us if our families, our friends, the organisation of our capital and Palace is all gone?" George asked quietly.

_It's true, _she thought as they quietly left the meeting room and made their separate ways to bed. _Our families, our friends, our home; that's what we fight for. _She knew all the men had the same ideas burning their minds. She also knew she was the one with the responsibility to fight for that belief. The knowledge doused the fizz in her veins, but the heat remained. 


	5. Chapter 5

**I know the last chapter was a little lacking in action, thanks to the readers who've stuck with it, but hopefully this is where things start to happen...**

Kel had come down to the courtyard at first light for extended glaive practice. She had spent a broken night worrying in equal parts about the how she would deal with commanding the mission, and what might befall the kingdom if she failed. Feeling tired and gritty-eyed, she stood quietly, leaning against the barrack wall, and performed some deep breathing exercises to try and calm her mind. The ideal version of her soul, that still lake on windless day, was hard to find and harder to pin down. Kel had just about steadied herself, when she heard some voices cut through the quiet morning. She flattened her body against the rough wood, and listened; her weakness for eavesdropping had persisted from her squiredom, and she found it hard to resist

"…a brief word in your ear, sergeant. Just so you aren't caught out, can prepare yourself." This was Buri's voice.

"What more do I need to prepare myself for?" This was Dom, his usual charm replaced by a level of apprehension Kel had never before heard.

"The Riders on this mission are a selection of the best from the present and past; not just one group. Included in that "past" category is a certain Klair of Marsh's Hall…"

Kel heard a hiss of indrawn breath.

"Klair remains one of the finest tracking scouts the Riders have ever trained; her recent success on secondment to… well, to George, to tell the truth…just highlights this." Buri continued. "The group needs her, Dom. Raoul told me of your history, hence this talk, now. You need to deal with it. With her." The woman paused. Kel heard a clap of hand on cloth. "The realm needs you, Dom, we all do. This is more important than your past." A single set of footsteps retreated quietly.

Kel heard a male sigh, followed by a quick scuffing of feet and, shocking in the still dawn, a loud _thud_ of fist on wood. It echoed once, twice, before she heard another sigh, then a deep, shuddering, indrawn breath. This was followed by the heavy tread of Dom's footsteps heading towards the mess hall.

Kel bit her lip. _What was all that about? An old girlfriend?_ She felt shockingly angry, the new emotion flooding her for a moment or two, until curiosity and a little guilt at eavesdropping caught up. Shaking her head at a all life's unnecessary complications, she stepped out into the centre of the courtyard and began the first few steps and sweeps of the longest, most complicated pattern dance she could remember.

"Where's Kel?" Neal asked as he finished his breakfast. "We'll have to set off soon."

"No idea." Dom said shortly. He was still playing with his porridge, which was cooling and solidifying in its bowl.

"I know you're worried, we all are, but I'm deeply disappointed at the lack of banter from you, this morning, Domitan." Neal scolded his cousin in an attempt at brevity. "Really, I don't think the "M" word has even crossed your lips."

Dom narrowed his eyes. "Well, in that case, _Meathead.."_

"_Sir_ Meathead.."

"_Sir Meathead_, then, I suggest you construct some witty repartee with this." He made a less than polite barrack room gesture, and left the table at speed. Neal shook his head and wondered if he would ever understand people. He was still considering this knotty topic when Kel sat down next to him, bearing her breakfast.

"There you are! Where have you been?"

"Glaive, then bath, where I dozed off. I didn't sleep well last night."

"Join the club." Neal muttered. "Dom stormed off in a foul mood earlier. And it wasn't due to me, before you ask. He didn't seem himself at all."

Kel took a long sip of tea. "Neal, do you know a Klair of Marsh's Hall?" she asked eventually. Neal's expression indicated that he did.

"Her! Where did you hear that name?" He hissed, brows contracted over eyes that were a little darker than a second ago.

"Only that she's one of the Riders in our team…How do you know her? If there's something I'd need to know, you better enlighten me, Neal."

Neal sighed, his expression softening again. "I don't know the full story, you'd have to ask them. Klair was Dom's first love, he fell hard for her, _really_ hard. And she broke his heart. This was, oh, six or seven years ago, just after he joined the Own. She's probably why he's like he is now, flirting with the ladies but keeping his feeling well away. Once bitten, twice shy." He looked away, then back to meet Kel's eyes. "He went off the rails a bit after Klair. Raoul straightened him out, but…that explains the mood this morning, anyway."

Kel finished her tea and mused, "He kept that quiet in the Own, anyway, I never heard any rumour when I was a squire. And I did hear most of them."

"Hmmn. It was whilst we were still pages, and, as I said, I don't know the full story. I don't think you've been in love like that, Kel. Intense, and, well….you'd have to ask Dom or Klair. And, to offer some advice, I really wouldn't. Some things are best left in the past."

Kel was about to open her mouth to answer, but a bell rang outside, reminding both young knights there was a top secret mission waiting to head off. As they hurried out to the stables, Kel stored this intriguing news for later consideration.

She didn't get time to ponder in the stables, at any rate. Strapping the last saddle bag to Peachblossom, she stooped to retrieve her glaive's holster, the last piece of kit to attach to the saddle.

"Psst! Kel! A voice hissed at her, from close by. On edge already, she leapt up, only to see Lerant, who must have been in the adjacent stable. She sighed, and wondered what words of encouragement he might have, if any. "Kel before you go…I really need to tell you…" He trailed off, glanced away, then looked back at Kel, his brown eyes level and serious. There was none of the usual anger or mocking in them.

"Lerant? What is it?" Kel asked softly. _What's going on now? _She wondered with trepidation. _Like I need anybody else's secrets to worry about._

"I hate to ask, especially you, but my lord Raoul isn't going, so neither am I, and someone needs to look out for Dom." The young man chewed his lip, brows furrowed.

"But Dom's one of the most experience fighters in the Company. He'll be looking out for the rest of us." Kel offered, knowing that wasn't at all why Lerant was asking her a favour.

"It's complicated, but…" he sighed. "One of the Riders…"

"Klair?"

"How do you know?" he flared up, temper quick as Kel remembered. "Who told you?"

"Neal, so you needn't worry that there's been gossip, and he only told me this morning. I know Dom has a history with this girl, I'm sure he's professional enough to deal with it. Dom's a friend, Lerant, of course I'll keep an eye on him." She added.

"Neal wouldn't know everything." Lerant muttered, placated. "Really, Kel, watch him. He's been a good friend to me, stood by me. And what happened…"

"What _did_ happen, Lerant?" Kel asked quietly. She took a step closer and touched, just lightly, the standard bearer's arm. "Please tell me." _What could that woman have done to Dom to cause so much worry in his friends? _The vicious thought spun through her mind.

"It's not for me to say. Kel. Don't let on to Dom that you know anything, either. Gods know why, but I feel better knowing you'll be there."

"Careful, that's almost a compliment." Kel added dryly. Lerant pressed his hand over Kel's, holding her hand tight against his arm, just for a second, before smiling grimly and turning to go.

"Look after my friend, Kel, and you'll have earned all the compliments in the world."

With that, Kel was left alone. She felt deflated and frustrated as she thought of Dom, and impatient and worried at the prospect of her mission. She was almost nostalgic for her piles of paperwork. But, as she arranged her weapons about her person, she realised; not quite.

**This chapter's a little longer, to keep you going, because it may be a little while until this gets an update. If you like it, hate it, or whatever, please let me know!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for all the reviews...now read on!**

Kel was riding well in front of the train; Raoul and Buri led the main group, followed by Neal, Wolset, George and Dom. There was too much going on in her head for Kel to manage any conversation, and she had thanked any and all Gods in the vicinity that Peachblossom was in a particularly cantankerous mood. No-one wanted to risk injury before the mission actually began, so when Kel had offered to scout ahead with the sparrows, it was accepted instantly.

Meanwhile, Neal was becoming unsettled by the quietness of his companions. "So." He looked about at the grim faces surrounding him. "Where're the rest of this magnificent troop? Surely there's plenty more to join this happy band? Hmmn?"

"There are three more Riders, we should meet them in an hour or so." Buri stated without looking round.

"Just _three_?" Neal asked, voice full of incredulity.

"An' Raoul, his lovely lady, and myself shall leave you before nightfall." George added dryly.

"That'll leave…seven of us in total…that's not even a company…" Neal's voice trailed off. He looked at faces of his companions. Wolset, the only commoner present, was tense and quiet, eyes averted. Dom was riding behind his corporal, and not keen to catch Neal's gaze. His cousin wondered how worried he was about the mission, and how much about his past, due to catch him up in an hour, and counting.

Evin Larse, current Commander-in-Chief of the Queen's Riders, stood behind the tree trunk and glanced down at the track. "No sign of them yet," he commented mildly.

"They'll be about ten minutes, riding slowly, medium weight horses, plenty of supplies." A petite woman answered him without looking up from the dagger she was sharpening. "Really," she added, voice scathing, "I followed their trail for an hour, and they had no idea. We will have a task and a half, tracking the enemy with all those clanking knights in tow." She pursed full, red lips, and, plucking a glossy, chestnut hair from her own head, she tested her blade. It severed the hair easily, and momentarily satisfied, she sheathed it and stood in one smooth, quick motion.

"It'll be ok, Klair." An older blonde woman replied from her seat, cross legged on a tree stump. "I've some new cloaking spells, and these charms are fully charged with magic, now." She too stood, and hung the charms in question from her pony's pack.

"I just hate to rely on magic, Liach. I appreciate how good you are, but what if charms are lost? If you're hurt, or encounter a stronger mage?" Klair began to pace, short, fast strides betraying her nervousness. "How can I do my job to the best of my abilities if I'm not working with fellow specialists?"

"The men from the Own are some of the best deep cover operatives from Third Company, or so Buri said." Evin commented.

"Third Company?" Klair stopped short and gazed at her Commander. "Who?"

"I've no idea, but they'll be the best. And the knights apparently have experience behind enemy lines…at least their armour won't be too shiny, I expect."

Klair snorted in amusement as Evin guffawed at his own joke, whilst Liach smiled benevolently at her younger companions. Laughter helped ease the tension; this she had learned after nearly a decade in and out of combat, one of the very first recruits into the Queen's Riders.

"Oh, look at us." Klair shook her head, mirth gone from her face. "All very well me going on about the futility of trying to work with clanking knights, and we're making so much noise any fool within a league could hear us."

"I've enough concealment spells on the go, only a Master or above could break them." Liach commented.

"Honestly, Klair, no one will know you took your mind off the job for half a minute." Evin drawled. He held up a hand as she opened her mouth to retaliate, and said "We'll head down to meet the others on the track, give them a little surprise, show how good we are. Yes?"

The two women nodded, and the three Riders turned to ready their ponies. Klair's mind churned with her worries about the mission ahead, and particularly the chance of whom one of those on the mission might be; but the emotions were erased by sheer annoyance when she noticed a bird had left a large pile of white droppings on the centre of her pony's saddle. She sighed, and decided the day couldn't really get any worse.

The bird in question was presently seated on Peachblossom's mane, and watching his great slow human crawling through the grass. She eventually got onto her feet, and using her poor, featherless wings, produced some seed for him and his flock. They were good for that, at least. As the sparrows ate, Kel removed her griffin feather band and considered the situation; the trio of Riders must be remainder of their group. And, Kel thought, chewing her lip, one of the two women must be Klair of Marsh's Hall. She hadn't been close enough to hear them, but had seen the petite brunette who seemed filled with passion and energy or the calm, graceful blonde? Which one had broken Dom's heart? Spurred on by curiosity and the need for action that had been plaguing her for weeks, she made her decision fast. Kel unshipped her glaive, sent Peachblossom back to others, and face set with steely determination, headed back up the slope to show the Riders waiting there what knights might know about stealth.

"Well, this is where we're to meet the Riders." Buri pulled up her pony, and glanced about. "The best scout I've ever worked and the most powerful mage from the Riders are amongst them, so they'll not only know we've arrived, but what we had for breakfast and the fact that Raoul's stockings don't match."

"True, dearest, if a little graphically put." Raoul sighed. "Sergeant Domitan, please check the area and make sure we can't be _too _surprised."

"Sir." Dom answered quietly, and turned his horse. He paused a second, looked about, frowned. "Sir? Where's Kel?"

"She was scouting ahead…" Neal murmured. Horror filled the heart of the group for one taut second, until hoof beats sounded on the packed earth of the path. Peachblossom rounded the bend…

….his saddle empty. They looked uncomprehendingly at the gelding, until a voice cut through the silence.

"Here I am." Kel called. She was walking down the wooded slope to their left, carrying her glaive and accompanied by a man, two women and three ponies, all circled by a halo of sparrows. The tall blond man and the lithe woman with coiled pleats of corn-gold hair seemed amused by something. The third Rider's neat, beautiful features were currently suffused with unmentionable rage. As the group reached the path, Buri stepped forward to grip hands with the man, the Commander-in-Chief of the Riders by his uniform.

"Evin." She said. "How goes it with you?" She nodded to the female riders in turn. "Liach Woodford. Lady Klair of Marsh's Hall." They saluted in return. "I see you've met our Lady Knight already."

"Well, my former Commander, I think it's a story better told over lunch; shall we stop for a while and have the briefing in comfort?" Evin smiled.

" A good idea." Buri nodded at the others, and they began to dismount and organise themselves. As she retrieved Peachblossom, Kel sneaked a look at Dom. He was gazing at Klair; Kel could see the tense muscles in his jaw as he ground his teeth. The object of his attention seemed to be focusing all her energy and attention on loosening her pony's girth; the pony, sensing his rider's mood, danced sideways. Again, the knight wondered what had happened between the two of them, and how it would affect the mission ahead of them all.

**I'm sorry this has taken a while. I couldn't get this chapter to flow at all, so all reviews gratefully received  
**


	7. Chapter 7

The group began to settle for lunch, whilst Liach had set some shielding spells about the clearing, so they would be undetectable to any passers by.

"At least, anybody without griffin feathers!" she laughed. Liach had been astounded, then intrigued by Kel's band, which had allowed her to sneak up on the three Riders earlier. "First time those particular spells have let me down in years," she had explained, grinning, as they picketed the horses. "First time somebody got the drop on Klair in years, too, so don't expect a warm welcome. Not much of a sense of humour regarding her abilities," Liach commented.

"I really didn't mean to trip her up like that, she turned so fast and the glaive is a long weapon…" Kel recalled vividly the older woman's pale face looking up at her from an undignified seat in a pile leaf mould, fury spots burning high on her perfectly sculpted cheekbones.

"Don't worry." Liach said quietly. "Klair won't let anything upset the mission. She's serious about work; it's the most important thing in her life."

"That's an understatement." Dom's voice sounded from behind his grey gelding. He appeared from behind the animal's side and looked at Kel for a second. Liach glanced from the soldier to the knight, and excused herself with all possible haste, saying something about a charm that needed repositioned.

"Dom." Kel said quietly. "What do you mean?"

He took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly through pursed lips. Kel thought she had never seen him look so tense. His eyes were fixed on some point in the middle distance and his arms were folded tight across his broad chest, big hands clenched tight.

"Dom…" She said again. He caught Kel's eye for a second, and opened his mouth to speak.

"Right people! Briefing now!" Raoul voice sounded across the clearing. It broke the moment between Kel and Dom. The sergeant sighed, forced a smile to his lips and said

"I'll tell you later." He turned and headed towards the fire, seating himself next to Wolset.

_Later, _thought Kel, _it's always later. _She fed Peachblossom an apple from her pocket before walking towards the fire. He, at least, offered her no laters.

In the manner of soldiers at ease everywhere, tea had been brewed at astonishing speed. The group sat surrounding their small fire and sipping at their mugs.

"Now, my little ones, this is the plan, and your own roles in it. All the notes you need will have to be kept in your head." George added to Neal, who had some parchment in front of him. "Top secret, remember?" Neal flushed. "Will you start, Raoul?" The big knight stood, his knees audibly creaking at the movement.

"Now, as I said last night, Nealan is here as a powerful healer, with experience in battle medicine." Kel thought there might be a quip from Dom along the lines of 'we always wondered what Meathead was here for', but he was staring silently at Raoul. "Domitan and Wolset are veterans of the Own, and are here primarily for combat duties. Evin is in the same role, but with slightly different skills, being from the Riders. He is also second in command; Keladry will lead the mission, having proved her skills in Scanra. George?"

"Thankin' you. Now, the two lovely ladies here are specialists. Liach Woodford is another strong mage, with experience of wide ranging illusions and concealment spells.Lady Klair of Marsh's Hall is the finest tracking scout the Riders have ever produced; she could follow a snowflake through a blizzard without getting her boots wet." George cast a grim eye over the group, eye pausing on each young person, on each life going into such danger.

"Now, as I'm sure you know, this is not your usual foray after the enemy." Buri took up here. "Liach is to shield you all, completely, as you track the Scanran group. Under no circumstances must they know you are there. No-one is to know you are there."

"Bad enough that the enemy is planning his carnage in Corus." Raoul commented. "If he detects you sooner, he can use Battle Fever against you, or dump it indiscriminately. Your invisibility is the only guarantee of safety."

"At least, until Corus." Buri said quietly. "It will not be easily done, even with such skills as you possess. But at the capital it all becomes more critical."

"Remind me, never volunteer for anything ever again." Neal muttered to Kel. His old friend nodded, her own heart tight with apprehension and fear.

"…so as you reach Corus, you are to engage and neutralise the entire enemy group, without quarter nor mercy. I have never given that order before," Raoul's voice was scarcely less steady than normal, "but think of the families, the civilians, the children, who would die if you fail." He, now, looked at each pale, nervous face. "You cannot fail."

Buri started discussing technical information with the Riders; Klair looked intensely focused, eager, almost excited. Kel felt a dull shock of recognition. The same emotions filled her taut body; a slight nausea balled in the gut, that she could share anything in common with this woman, who hurt Dom so. At that idea, she stole a look at him. He was pale, blue eyes hard and humourless as they flicked about the group; Kel had never seen him look so tense. His large hands clenched and unclenched, knuckles shining white between the scars and calluses. She wanted, to her surprise, to just reach out and take one of those hands in hers, to tell him not to worry, that it would be alright. She felt her own hand traitorously twitch in her lap, as if stretching out to him of its own free will. Kel clamped both hands between her knees and tried to concentrate on anything but Dom and Klair.

"Right, everyone!" Raoul called again. "This is it. We'll ride together for an hour of two, pass on any more information you might need, then you're on your own. I can only wish you luck, and ask for Mithros to grant you success, and the Goddess to bless you."

"So mote it be," came the murmured response. Everyone thought their own separate prayers in addition, and kept them close to their hearts.

**What can I say but thank you to all my dear readers and reviwers. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you, as always, for the reviews; I'm trying really hard to make the fic live up to all your expectations! **

They had been riding for three days, down through the rough forests of northern Tortall, through the mud, the bare skeletons of leafless trees, the raw, bare land which was waiting for spring to return. The mood of the small band of warriors matched the scenery. Thrown together, many strangers to each other, with a dangerous and critical task, they were quiet and withdrawn. The strange situation in which they travelled did not help; Liach had provided them all with a small metal charm on a leather thong, which, when hung about the neck, immediately caused the wearer and all they were touching to become invisible. It made travel difficult; the horses could see each other, but their riders couldn't. There were a few collisions, marked by swearing and equine squeals, until they got used to it. The charms didn't eliminate any sound, so they also had to ride in complete silence. It all added up to create a grim and depressing journey.

Kel, with her griffin feathers, could see through the illusion. Riding at the rear of their column, the hunched shoulders and drooped heads were obvious to her. The only exception was Klair. Kel spent a lot of time watching Klair. The lady in question seemed eager and charged, scouting ahead to follow the faint trail they had picked up from the Scanran party. She was absolutely intent on this task, hand signalling with tight, efficient motion to those that followed, impatient at any degree of laxity, perceived or real, in them. Once, in a vicious hissing whisper, she had berated Neal for dropping apple core from horse back.

"Do you realise how that stands out? We're in an oak forest in March…how else could an apple get here unless a person dropped it?" Kel could only just hear her, but her body language was obvious and furious.

"What am I meant to do?" Neal had asked. It had been a while since any one had spoken to him like that; since he had seen his former knight mistress, anyway.

"You can eat it _all_, or carry it." Klair looked a the knight for a second, eyes narrowed, utter distain in every line of her beautiful face.

_She is beautiful_, Kel mused later that day, shrouded in her leather cape as the rain drizzled down, not heavy but soaking everything. Klair was ahead and out of sight at this point, and the rest of them were waiting behind. Dom and Wolset were muttering together under a large dead tree, and Kel stood with Evin in the lee of some heavy evergreen scrub. Neal and Liach were discussing magic a little way away; they seemed to have bonded well and quickly, Kel had thought.

"So, Kel, how do you feel the mission is proceeding?" Evin asked her quietly.

"What?" Kel was jerked suddenly out of her reverie.

"How d'you feel its going?" Evin asked a little more slowly, looking at her seriously. "You seem preoccupied."

_Frustrated, is what I am_, Kel thought to herself. _By this creeping along in silence, by having to stay hidden at all times, and by all these unbidden thoughts about Dom and his past. _She said, however, "I just want to fight, to see the enemy and do what I'm training to do. Chafing at the bit, I s'pose."

"Hmm." Evin said. "Klair's pretty confident we're on the right track, and the speed we're travelling, it shouldn't be long until we reach Corus."

"You trust Klair's judgement so much?" she asked mildly.

"As a tracker? Absolutely. I've never encountered better. That's why she's here."

"And her judgement generally?"

"You don't know of her past? I suppose its been so long…"

"I had heard about her and Dom.." Kel offered.

"That is the least of it." Evin stated. "Look, it's not for me to gossip about those under my command, and this really isn't the place. Ask her, and ask her later. If there is a later." He grimaced as a drop of water insinuated its way into the collar of his coat. "I think I can see her coming back. Time to move." He squeezed his pony's sides, and set off, leaving Kel with even more unanswered questions whirling round her head.

_This is no use. _The lady knight thought to herself as she and Peachblossom eventually followed. _I am no use to this mission with my mind in turmoil like this, I have to know. _Her eyes alighted on the only other person who might know what was going on. She decided she was going to ask Dom, and as soon as possible.

Her chance came earlier than she could have hoped. Kel just was finishing her watch, another silent stretch of time spent straining her eyes and ears in then dark, when she heard her relief pacing softly over. _We've all become so good at moving silently and leaving no trace_ she mused to herself. She stepped out from behind her tree, expecting to see Neal.

"Dom?" She asked quietly. "I thought you were on dawn watch."

"Yep. But I couldn't sleep, so I've swapped with Meathead, who is snoring like a baby." He flashed Kel a smile, rare these days, white teeth glinting in the darkness.

"Good of you." She replied, slowly unstringing her bow and making as if she was about to head back to camp. _Now's the time_. _I can ask him about Klair now. Do it!_ Kel told herself.

"Dom…"

"Hmm…All been quiet so far, I take it?" He fussed with his cloak.

"Yeah, as the grave." Kel winced at this less than sensitive image. "Dom, what happened between you and Klair?" She blurted out.

Dom stopped in his motions, broad back to her. "You mean you don't know?" he asked, voice leaden and slow. He seemed remote to her, a stranger; Kel felt unaccountably nervous, alone except for this big, powerful man she was knowingly angering.

"Not really. I'd rather hear anything I need to hear from you, though." She said as gently as she could.

" 'That you need to hear.'" He stated, and turned to look at her, shoulders slumped and eyes downcast. He sat on a convenient tree stump, patted the free space at his side. As Kel folded her long limbs to sit next to him, Dom said, "I'll explain, if only so you understand what she's like, so that you can't turn in to her."

Kel opened her mouth to argue, aghast at the idea she could hurt any human being as much as Klair had hurt Dom, but he held up a hand for silence and started to talk, his light voice muted.

"It all started when her Rider Group - she was assigned to Buri's Group Askew, did you know that? - was seconded to the Own, you know how it works. It was love at first sight for me. I'd never looked at a girl and had my heart flip upside down before. Ask Lerant, if you want, he was there. Anyway, I fell hard, we got together - took a bit of work on my part, but I thought she was worth it. There were a few rumours floating about; that she was hard, a bit of a man eater, completely career minded. In my love torn state, I thought I had changed her, that she really loved me. Hah!" Dom paused, rubbed the back of his had across his eyes. "She said her career was more important, that she had to be the best, and was off on a special mission! She was the first woman I told I loved. I gave her my heart. And she threw it away like it didn't matter." He stopped, looked into middle distance over Kel's right shoulder.

"How does that make me like her?" Kel had to ask. It didn't sound like how she thought of herself; did others really see her as so focused and unemotional? Memories of being called "The Lump" rose unbidden to her mind.

Dom smiled humourlessly. "Work, duty, if you please, is the most important thing in your life, isn't it Kel? Your duty has been to people, but what if it was to a thing? Or an ideal? Would you compromise that for your comrades? Your love?" He stared into Kel's eyes. "Would you, Keladry?"

"You know I would." She could see stars reflected in Dom's eyes, gleaming like mirrors as his held back tears caught the heavenly light. She touched his hand. If she didn't know how upset he was, she would have been desperately hurt by the remark. "You of all people should know. I did head off behind enemy lines on a treasonous mission last summer, or don't you remember?" She smiled into those over bright eyes, squeezed his hand.

"Really, Kel?" Dom returned the gaze, and placed his other hand over hers, enveloping it.

"Really." She had thought she had been feeling tense for days, but the coiled feeling growing in her belly was new; not unfamiliar, but more intense than anything she had ever felt before. She wondered if she was ill; Dom seemed very close, and getting closer.

"You mean it, don't you, Kel? People matter to you…" he breathed.

"_You_ matter to me, Dom…"

At that moment, that wonderful tangled moment as Dom seemed so near, the satin black night was torn as an arrow shrieked over their heads to thud solidly into the tree above their heads.


	9. Chapter 9

Dom and Kel stared, open mouthed, for just a second, at the arrow, still vibrating in the tree trunk just inches above their heads. Training kicked in; they produced weapons and took guard stances, eyes frantically scanning the dark woods for any movement, ears straining for any noise. There was nothing to hear but their own rough breathing, no rush of enemies, no crash of branches nor any pounding horses' hooves.

Kel could feel the waves of fear coming off Dom, and she knew she radiated the emotion herself. They were not wearing their concealment charms, and had been paying little enough attention to the surrounding, when they were meant to be guarding and protecting their little band.

"Shall I raise the camp?" Dom asked, voice level but harsh.

Panic clutched an icy hand round Kel's innards. If they had been hurt, captured, if the whole mission was lost because she had been distracted by this, this _frivolity_, she knew she could never, ever forgive herself.

"We'll go back together, see the lie of the land," she breathed, not wishing to betray her feelings with a crack in her voice, or the sob that was welling in her throat.

"I'll take point." Dom caught her eye for a second, and she saw a glint in his eye not concerned with the current situation; it seemed to beg a question they'd have to deal with later

As the pair crept with stealth towards the camp, a lithe figure coiled a bowstring, slipped it tidily into her belt, and, moving with feline grace and silence, loped away at a deceptively fast pace. It allowed her to circle away and yet still reach the camp, stow her bow, and curl back in her bedroll, just her chestnut hair showing, before Kel and Dom would arrive. They were utterly puzzled by the arrow, for they could find no sign of archer, or attack, not any threat at all. Dom returned to finish his watch, and Kel lay in her bedroll, heart thudding in the lonely night, as sleep eluded her and her thoughts crawled up the sides of her mind.

It was lunch stop the next day. Kel was moodily gnawing on some jerky when someone sat down next to her, unannounced.

"Sooo…" Klair's voice purred, "How're you finding the strains of command? Because, if you excuse my boldness, you look like death." She smiled her quick, neat smile, flashing it on, and they off, like pulling a shutter.

Kel raised her eyebrows and said nothing. This was the first time Klair had spoken to her not in the context of work. There was a knowingness to her that Kel didn't like, above and beyond the personal prejudices she carried. Kel swallowed her mouthful.

"Lacking a little sleep, maybe, but who looks their best in times like these?" She replied blandly. "I'm quite comfortable with my position, thank you for your concern."

"I like to know my commanders have their minds on the job in hand." Klair stated. "Otherwise no matter what I do, however well I discharge my duty, the mission may fail. I hope I do not have to repeat myself." She stood with that quick grace Kel could not help but admire, and strode off. Kel looked at the quiver on her back, at the curious pale fletching a few of the arrows carried. Curious mainly because it matched that of the arrow that had whizzed over Kel's head scant hours ago.

"I saw the Lady Klair talking to you at lunch." Neal was riding alongside Kel that afternoon. She had her charm in place and her griffin feathers in her belt, so if she hadn't been keyed up for any sound, let alone Blossom's solid hoof falls in the leaf litter, Neal's hiss would have taken her very much by surprise. "Ignore any poison that one drips in your ear. Liach's told me one or two things, and put together with what happened before and her whole sunny demeanour on this little excursion, I trust her as far as I could throw her."

"She's proved to be a very good tracker." Kel said. "We'd not be this far on without her."

"Don't you defend her, she is bad news." Neal replied. "Keep her in close sight, and especially don't let her know you're close to Dom, she'll rip you to shreds."

"She wouldn't jeopardise the mission, I'm sure."

"All right, then that miserable excuse for a human being will do it afterwards. Bide her time."

"Uh-huh. Neal?" Kel asked. "What do you mean, 'I'm close to Dom.'"

"You two are pretty good friends, aren't you?" Neal asked, surprised. "What did you think I meant?"

At that point, a bird call came from in front of them. It was either a thrush with a terminal disease, or Wolset calling a halt. Suspecting the latter, Neal and Kel reined in their mounts. _Things are beginning to heat up, _Kel thought to herself, _we're closing in on the Scanran party, Klair is displaying her true colours, and…_ At this point Dom instantly reappeared as her removed his charm from about his neck. This was disconcerting until you got used to it. Kel looked in his direction, and gulped that he, despite her supposed invisibility, seemed to be staring right back at her. His blue eyes moved - he really couldn't see her - and she continued to let her gaze follow his movements, the crinkle round his broad mouth as he smiled, the flex of his shoulders as he loosened his horse's girth. _And I still can't escape these feelings, _she grimly reminded herself. _Maybe that's what really happened to Klair. Maybe it's impossible to resist love, and if you, try, even if you seem to succeed, you realise later that you had to pay, that you had to leave your heart behind if it wasn't going to be used._ Kel startled herself with this thought, but stored in away for later contemplation, as the group gathered to plan the next move.


	10. Chapter 10

Seven very tense warriors lay on their bellies on the crest of the small hill, looking down over the still bare farmland that lead, eventually, to Corus, which glittered in the fresh spring sunlight. The band weren't looking towards Corus, though; their eyes were fixed on something much closer.

"There." Klair breathed. "You can see the marks where they moved through the long grass, and then the branches in the copse, to the left." The trail was feather faint, and Kel admitted to herself she wouldn't have seen it if it hadn't been pointed out to her.

"I'm getting very faint traces of magic." Liach had her eyes on a small, flat highly polished stone nestled in the palm of her hand. "I'm close enough to pick it up now. Some subtle concealment charms, a few speaking spells, and something I've never encountered before…that must be how the Battle Fever is carried…three mages altogether…I think they've stopped, that's a new speaking spell."

"And we know there are six in the group altogether." Evin supplied. "We're as close as we've been to them. I think we need to plan the next move carefully."

"Absolutely." Kel looked over her companions. "We'll leave a lookout here, and the rest of us will fall back and discuss the next move."

"How democratic." Klair muttered, not quite under her breath. Kel saw the venomous look Neal shot her, and was glad Dom was far enough away not to have heard her.

"Right, Klair, you can take the first guard, we'll relieve you in two hours; everyone else back to the horses." Kel took just a tiny amount of pleasure in leaving the woman behind, but even as she was relieved to be free of her for a few hours, she was already worried about what Klair might do or say later. What was the phrase? _Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, _she remember as she unhitched Peachblossom and led the others to a secluded hollow for their discussions.

Wolset tended the kettle on the fire, crouched low over the flickering flames. He was deeply worried. This was more usual than not, but this mission deeply unsettled him; above and beyond the danger and the difficulty, and being landed amongst all these nobles. Sergeant Dom was withdrawn and tense, surely to do with that poisonous ice queen he had apparently had dealings with before. Lady Kel, so focused normally, seemed distracted, as did Sir Neal. All the magic and charms gave him a sore head as well. He hated the creeping and silence, hated the constant invisibility. _I'm a soldier, not a spy, _he thought harshly, as the water came to the boil. He made the tea, and then forced his mind back to the discussions going on about him. He filled the mugs, and felt relieved that there would be fighting soon: something he could do. Wolset was anxious for something, anything, familiar in this strange sequence of events.

"So…correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the plan so far." Kel took a mug from Wolset, smiling her thanks. "We trail the Scanrans until nightfall, and when they are encamped, we surround them, and pick off the guards in absolute secrecy. This is critical."

Evin nodded grimly, as did Liach and Neal. Dom chewed his lip and said nothing.

"So," Kel continued, "as they usually have two guards, that brings the group down to four, and they should hopefully be asleep and unaware of us. Gods hope they are; if we can take them unawares, we immobilise and silence them. If we lose the element of surprise, we have to kill them. Finally, we recover the Battle Fever."

"We're in two groups; wide group initially takes out the sentries, then will provide cover with bows and ensure the net remains closed and no-one may escape." Evin continued. "Close group goes in to take the main body of the enemy."

"Who's in each group?" Dom asked, voice creaky.

"Neal and I will have to be in the close group." Liach commented. "I can send a sleep spell in front of me, that should make life easier, and together we can hold people in magic."

"She's right; we've been practising the Golden Net." Neal said, a little proudly. "And you'll need me for when we find the Battle Fever."

"Sounds good." Kel said approvingly. "Wolset is a fine archer, so he'll be placed in wide group."

"If it's archers, Klair better go there, too." Evin stated. "That's another skill she's honed over the years."

"Very good." Kel said. _That doesn't surprise me at all, and she never let on, devious creature,_ she thought. "I'll lead wide group myself." She added. _Better to keep an eye on certain people._

"So I'll lead the close group." Evin said. "That's me, Liach, Neal and Dom." He stood up and stretched. "I'll go and relieve Klair, fill her in. That alright, Kel?"

"Perfect. Neal and Liach can sort out their magic, and the rest of us can sort out weapons and horses."

With that the little group separated to their tasks. They felt grim with the critical part of the mission so close, but its closeness also brought a sense of relief, that for better or worse, soon the waiting would be over.

Dom and Kel found themselves working side by side as they groomed and tacked up the horses. They were visible at this point; it was very picky to negotiate buckles and straps with you couldn't see the finger working at them.

"Kel…" Dom began hesitantly.

"Hmm?" Kel was untangling Blossoms mane.

"Do you think we'll die in this mission?"

"What makes you ask that?" Kel asked carefully, eyes on her task.

"I've just got a bad feeling; like there's another company hiding behind the hill, or there's something really important we don't know…" he tailed off. "Just a bad feeling," he repeated.

"It does seem straightforward, but if we lose the surprise, it could be a bloody fight. You know anything can happen in battle." Kel finished fastening Blossom's bridle and moved onto Liach's pony, a brown mare called Rosebay. Kel felt at a loss to reassure this man who had supported her so often in the past.

"You're my commander and I trust you Kel; but I'm an experienced soldier and I trust my instincts as well. I'm sure something's going to happen tonight." He ducked under his horse's neck and stood facing Kel. "I can't help but think the worst." He looked her in the eye. "If you were to die this day, is there anything you'll regret? That you did? Or that you didn't do?" He was far too close again. Kel could hear his fast shallow breathing, smell his pine and earth scent, feel the heat from his body.

"I don't regret anything I've done, Dom," she replied quietly. She took his elbows in her hands, _just to steady myself_, she justified, _for my knees are very wobbly_.

"Nor do I." He smiled, a nervous flicker of a smile, not his usual broad grin.

But there would be one thing I'd regret _not_ doing, if the Black God comes for me tonight. Luckily," Kel said, not quite believing what she was doing, "I can rectify it easily."

Kel couldn't breathe, but she was decided; she stood on tiptoe, and placed her tender kiss on Dom's lips. She could feel them trembling slightly.

"Now I can die happy," she said, feeling a bit silly but very relieved. Dom looked her in the eye, smiled properly this time.

"I wasn't sure you felt that way, even after the arrow incident, but that's quite conclusive."

"Idiot." Kel felt she could smile properly, too, now. "I've wanted nothing else for goodness knows how long." He reached down, hand on her neck to pull her face closer, and he kissed her back, hard and deep. She hadn't realised how much she had wanted this, had needed this, and as those strong, broad hands slid up and down her back, one then in her hair, one on her hip, she felt over wrought spring of her heart relax. They both forgot the mission, the threat of enemies distant and close, the imminent threat of death, and they lost themselves in that perfect moment, filled with nothing but each other.

**Finally! I've got them together...  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**A longer chapter, as requested...**

The moment was perfect, but it had to end; a rustle and a snap of a twig broken underfoot caused Kel and Dom to spring apart. Wolset appeared from behind an oak tree, and if he noticed his sergeant was grooming an already clean horse, and a very flushed Lady Knight was trying to but on a bridle upside down, he said nothing.

"Wolset." Dom smiled at his corporal.

"Sarge, I'm here to help take the horses over. Time to go."

Indeed, dusk was beginning to fall. Dom and Kel had been otherwise preoccupied, and had to noticed the light begin to fade.

"Right…you take Blossom and your gelding, we'll follow with the rest." Dom decided quickly.

"So long as I don't have Peachblossom, that's fine with me!" He attempted a joke, and a smile that looked more like a grimace, before grabbing the appropriate reins and heading back to the clearing.

"So this is it…" Dom took Rosebay's bridle from Kel, untangled it, and finished tacking up the long suffering pony. She sighed and blew greenish spit over Dom's tunic. "Lovely.." he commented. "Kel?" he asked, and, last buckle fastened, he turned to tale his Lady Knight's hands.

"This is it, Dom." Kel looked up into his eyes. "And we have to concentrate on the mission. This.." she reached up to stroke his face, run her thumb over his lips, "…we can continue afterwards." He pulled back from he slightly, stared her in the eye.

"So we forget about this, how this feels.." he kissed her quickly and thrillingly, pulling away before Kel could respond, "..and do our duty?"

"Of course we do." She had a sickening feeling she knew where this was going. "I'm not going to talk about duty and so on, you know about that, and what it means. We can take as long as we want doing whatever we want after tomorrow.." she kissed him back, just as thoroughly "…but there are other things to concentrate on tonight."

"You are right, Kel. I would never abandon the task in hand.." he sounded forlorn, resigned.

"And I am not going to abandon you, you fool. It'll take more than some murderous Scanrans, a deadly disease and a perilous mission to keep me from finishing what we've started here."

They kissed briefly, sweetly, before grabbing the remaining horses' reins and jogging back to the clearing and their waiting comrades.

"This is never going to come off." Neal muttered petulantly, smearing the burnt cork over his face and hands.

"What a shame. We'll just ask the nice Scanrans to not notice your shiny face catching the moonlight and making a perfect target for them." Klair sneered.

"Just as well we've plenty of cork, then, because your head is so big, Miss I'm-the-best-tracker, if you weren't blacked out it'd be an unmissable target."

"Children!" Liach caused the corks they were holding to explode in a shower of brown sparks (the colour of her gift). "Play nice."

"Ha, ha; don't be sarcastic, Liach." Klair retorted, shaking her smarting fingers.

"Then lighten up a little. And Neal, your appearance is of little importance here." She paused. "Everyone taken the potion against the effects of Battle Fever? And got their speech spells?"

"I haven't." Kel called as she and Dom appeared, trailing horses behind them. She distributed some mounts and went to take a swig from the flask Neal offered her, blank faced. She should have paid some attention to this, but her mind was still half on Dom. She almost spat the potion straight back out again.

"Goddess, that's foul!" she gasped. "What is in that?" She demanded of Neal. "Why didn't you warn me?"

"I'm sure it works better if you don't know what it tastes like." He answered blithely. "Or maybe it just amuses me. No, definitely the latter." He took the flask from Kel and handed it to Dom, who just appeared. "Drink your medicine, cousin dearest."

Dom, looking suspicious, managed to spit out nearly all his mouthful. "Mithros above," he coughed.

"Well, you better not come into contact with any Battle Fever." Liach scowled as Neal chuckled at his slightly green looking cousin, "that was the last of the potion."

"I'd rather Battle Fever than more of that." Dom said sincerely, starting to black his face with the last of the cork.

"Everyone ready?" Kel voice sounded softly over the clearing. "Wide group to me, close group to Evin, and we're ready to begin." She paused, looked over the band, eyes lingering on Neal, her oldest friend, Dom, her new found love, and Klair, her enemy? Rival? Kel wondered if all of them would see the morning, have a chance to carry on these relationships, or if it would end here, for one or all of them, in a bare muddy wood on a moonlit night. She drew a deep, steadying breath, thought of a still lake, and continued. "Goddess and Mithros bless and keep us through tonight. Good luck to you all. So mote."

"So mote it be." The reply resounded in various accents and tones, but Kel felt the shared meaning and emotion behind it. _We hope we see the morning._

Evin, along with Liach, Neal and Dom, had left some minutes earlier. She, Wolset and Klair had stood in an uneasy silence, fiddling with bowstrings and charms.

"I suggest, with all due respect and deference, Lady Knight, that we take up positions now." Klair had murmured.

Kel put a restraining hand on Wolset's arm, and smiled her best Yamani smile.

"What a timely suggestion, Lady Klair. If you take the northern position, and Wolset the south by south western, I can cover you both from here as you proceed. That should give us a fine range of fire over the camp, yes?" She asked sweetly. Klair scowled. Kel knew her placing of the archers was perfect and Klair couldn't argue; she also would be able to keep an eye on Klair. "Everyone got those griffin arrows?"

"Yep, Lady Kel." Wolset nodded. He was reassured to be with Kel, trusted her in a situation like this. Scanran mages weren't as bad as killing devices, and they had coped with those before.

Klair was not so sure. "I have them, but I'm not trusting to magic. There is such a thing as practice."

"But sometimes we need all the edge we can get." Kel replied, voice silky. She drew herself to her full height, squared her shoulders and looked down at Klair. "There are not going to be any problems, are there?"

"No, Lady Knight. I shall certainly not be distracted from my duty." Klair said, voice crisp, clipped and cold. With that she turned and padded into the dark towards her position.

"Alright, Lady Kel?" Wolset asked quietly. "She one to watch your back around, her." He pause as he began to walk away, half turned turned to face her. "I'm pleased about you and the sergeant."

"Thank you, Wolset." Kel flushed under her cork. "George's spies have nothing on you, do they? But there's a job to do here, so lets get it done."

The two shared a brief smile, and as Kel took her vantage point, bow drawn, she caught her first glimpse of the firelight from the Scanran camp. The glow was red and low, the fire banked for the night, but she could make out the four bodies lying round it, asleep. The merest movement of some trees up to her left betrayed Klair's position, above where they guessed the northern guide would be. Wolset would be a minute or two longer, as he had a wide loop to take to get behind the other guard. Kel took some deep breaths, scanned the area again. There was no movement from the sleeping Scanrans, or their dozing, picketed horses. The speaking spell attached to Kel's collar signalled her, a gentle buzz against her cork-blacked skin. She tapped it gently

"Go ahead," she breathed.

"In position." Wolset's disembodied voice sounded from the warm sphere of magic.

"Also in position." Klair's clipped tone followed.

"All is quiet from my viewpoint; take your shots." Kel was glad her whisper didn't wobble.

As she watched the clearing, mouth dry, she could see no movement; then, all of a sudden, they was a muffled thud, a dull hollow noise, barely audible even to her sharp ears. It was echoed almost instantly from the opposite side of the clearing. Bow trained on the remainder of the group, Kel studied them for any sign they had heard, but they seemed none the wiser.

"Success." Klair reported, through the speech spell.

"Good" Kel answered, "Wolset?" she asked. There was a pause. "Wolset?" she repeated, heart beating a little faster.

"…Success," his voice sounded quietly but clearly.

"Right, new positions to give cover to the close group." Kel tapped the speech spell three time; this put her through to Evin. "Kel here; we've taken both guards, and have the camp covered. No sign the enemy is any the wiser."

"Good, we'll proceed. Thanks, Kel." Evin's voice sounded distant and tinny, but quite clear. Kel tapped the spell twice more. "Wide group, the others are going in. Remember, we must let none of the enemy escape. Shoot to kill." Kel swallowed dryly. She tapped the spell a final time, so no-one could hear her. "And may the Black God grant them peace," she added. Whether this was for the enemy or he comrades, she was not sure. Maybe both. They were all people, after all. _But we don't plan to murder civilians_, Kel thought, reassuring herself. _Just sleeping men,_ her treacherous side added. Kel shook her head and trained her bow on the camp, and concentrated on the job in hand.

It all happened very suddenly. A glowing net, ethereal and feather light, made of green and brown light, floated over the fire and the sleeping bodies, dropping to the ground where in flared brightly and then began to pulse. One of the bodies snored extra loud. _There must be sleep spells in the weave of the net,_ Kel wondered. Neal and Liach must have put a lot of power into this spell. It seemed to be working well, though. Kel could see a figure, tall and slim, approach the captured enemy, crouch briefly to examine them, before hand signalling to the others. The three others emerged from the trees; the biggest went to the horses - _Dom!_ - Kel thought with a twist of her heart, and the smallest sat down next to the fire, with third leaning over her. _Liach must be weak from the power she's put in the spells_, she worried. Kel then watched Neal and Evin examine some of the packs, Neal shifting the Net slightly and Evin removing the bags gently, then unpacking them piece by piece, obviously looking for the Battle Fever, however it was carried. Kel could feel the sweat trickling down between her shoulder blades. She tapped her speech spell three times, and she could hear what the group by the camp fire were saying.

"No, it'll be thick with spells," Neal muttered. Kel bit her lip at the tiredness in her friend's voice. "And a sealed container. I doubt it'll look much like anything else, after all who would be looking for it?" He laughed without mirth.

"Nothing." Evin muttered. He turned the pack inside out. "Liach? Any ideas?"

Liach coughed, looked over. She was deathly pale in the firelight. "No. Even with shield spells, it'd be stupid to carry in on your person."

One of the Scanrans snuffled and rolled over, causing them all to gaze a the shapes under the net.

"We really better hurry, that or truss them up like spring chickens. The magic won't last indefinitely," Neal said.

Dom reappeared behind Evin and Neal, Kel noticed from up on her vantage point. He was carrying saddle bags, doubtless from the horses he had just released. As Kel realised what they might contain, and what Dom seemed about to do, she cast all caution to the wind and opened her mouth to scream. But no noise came out, or didn't come out fast enough, because as Dom came level with the fire, stopped next to the others, he grinned broadly - Kel saw the flash of his white teeth clearly against his sooty face - and dumped the saddle bags unceremoniously onto the ground. She knew she was too far away to hear whatever it was breaking as the bags impacted the ground, but she could see the red fumes, twisting like smoke but with more purpose. The quick and malicious tendrils rose up and engulfed the three Tortallans round the fire.


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm so sorry this is has been so long...time has just run away from me. I'll try to get the last few chapters up a bit more promptly from now on. Thank you to anyone still sticking with the story, I hope you enjoy this!**

The wide group - Kel, Klair and Wolset - were down at the campfire in scant seconds, breath whistling and weapons poised. They had all seen the sinister red fumes billow up form the saddle bags Dom had dropped, and engulf him, Evin and Neal. They skidded to a halt scant feet from the afflicted men. Neal and Evin were coughing fit to bring their lungs up, but Dom was just wheezing, a drop of blood on his pale lips. Kel and Klair both lunged to catch the big man as he began to sway, but Liach's shout caught them in their tracks.

"Leave him! Don't go near the spilt Battle Fever! " Liach swayed with the effort of getting to her feet, but her eyes blazed in her pale face and both young women listened. "Look to the enemy, I can't hold the spell alone!" She gasped, and wavered on her feet. The net, formerly green and brown from the mixed colours of her and Neal's magic, was now solely brown, and flashing fainter and fainter…the bodies beneath it began to stir, angry Scanran curses sounding, muffled and groggy, but coming clearer as the magic began to fade.

"You have to hold them!" Liach cried, brown flames like smoke billowing off her, disappearing as fast as they came. She swooned back, landing bonelessly over the log. The net flamed once, and disappeared. The first Scanran began to gain his feet.

"Neal! Magic!" Kel yelled hoarsely. "Wolset, Klair, bows NOW!" She dropped a griffin fletched arrow into the nearest enemy at point blank range, hearing the meaty _thud_ as the arrow embedded itself into his chest. The sound was repeated as Wolset's arrow found its target as well. But the two remaining men staggered to their feet, lurching towards the Tortallans… Klair made to tackle one to the ground, but her light frame was swept aside by the burly Scanran, who flung her away like a rag doll and headed for the woods.

"After him!" Kel screamed at her, as she fumbled an arrow to her string and loosed a the last Scanran. She hit him in the thigh, causing him to fall with a gut wrenching scream. "Wolset, Klair, follow him!" She cried again, desperation in her voice. As Wolset barrelled into the woods, Klair hauling herself to her feet and chasing after him, she turned to the remains of her command.

"Neal? Evin?" Kel asked hoarsely.

"I'm alright, Kel." Evin whispered, voice nearly lost. "Liach…" He staggered over to her form, prone and limp over the log.

"I'll live, Kel," Neal grinned up at his oldest friend. The thumped himself on the chest, coughed again, grinned ruefully. "Battle Fever must have been in those saddle bags, and the vials shattered when it dropped. We caught the worst of it. At least we know that protective potion works..." his voice tailed off as he gazed at Dom. "He spat out his potion.."

Kel was on her knees at Dom's side, partly to get as close as possible to him, partly because the idea of him ill, even dying, made her weak with nausea and panic. "Do something, Neal!" she gasped, patting Dom's pale cheeks, straightening his arms, wiping sweat and blood from his face with the edge of her tunic.

"Kel, I'm dry, after the net and the sleep spells." Neal's voice was hollow and wavering. "I couldn't heal a blister at the moment." He too knelt at Dom's side. "Maybe Liach…"

"Liach's dead." Evin's voice sounded from across the clearing. He looked paler than Dom, if that was possible, and as her closed Liach's eyes, crossed her hands, Kel could see the tremble in his hands. "Used her life force up holding that spell alone." A noise, half sob, half cough, escaped his chapped lips, and he crumpled to sit next the body.

"What do we do, Kel?" Neal whispered. He stroked his cousin's pale brow, listened to Dom's laboured, whistling breathing, which was worsening by the second. "What do we do?"

Kel was about to round on him, so close on him, to scream, to cry, that she didn't know, _she didn't know_, and don't let Dom die, don't let him leave me, not now…

…when Wolset burst back through the trees. Half of his face was burned, one hand a charred mess of flesh and bone. "Lady Kel…" he gasped. "He's a mage, the last Scanran, blasting magic…Klair needs help… she's got him held, but she needs your help.." And with that he fainted dead away. Kel looked at him; at Evin, weak and slumped next to his old compatriot's body; at Neal, weakly holding his cousin's hand; and at Dom, her dear Domitan, his breathing getting harsher and harsher, blisters and sores appearing on his lips. How could she leave?

But something deep down in her, her sane and cold core, seemed to take over at this point. "Evin, you're in charge. Neal, do what you can for everyone. I have to finish this." She stood, and pausing only to grab Wolset's griffin fletched arrows, strode out of the woods and followed the faint trail towards Klair and the enemy. The only noise in the clearing was pop as a knot exploded in the Scanran's campfire, and Dom's breathing.

As Kel strode through the woods, the action of the last few minutes caught up with her; she had to pause to lean against a tree as huge, racking sobs shook her body. Her hands trembled violently and she felt sick. The closest to this she had ever felt before was in the grip of her fear of heights, before she had conquered it. She was not so sure she could best this. Visions flitted in front of her eyes; Wolset's flamed hand, Neal's pale, exhausted face, the outline of Liach's body and Evin slumped over it in grief. These were replaced in her mind soon enough by the image of Dom, her beloved, fighting for breath, unconscious, those sores breaking open his lips, lips that had been so sweet against hers just hours ago. Kel felt at first as if she would collapse at the thought of Dom dying, but then, strangely, it seemed to galvanise her into action. He might die, he might live, she couldn't change that and right now she had to do what she could. Maybe that made her cold and hard, that she was not weeping over his prone form, but it also made her Kel. Someone had to get the last of the enemy that was the cause of all this suffering._And, _she thought grimly, hefting her bow_ it seems like it's going to be me._

Klair was terrified. She wasn't admitting it to anyone but herself, but she was. She couldn't remember the last time she was so afraid. She had no control over what was happening, she was running on adrenaline and instinct, from second to second. No carefully made plan, no stealth, no upper hand, no trail to follow. Just her, the enemy, and their wits.

Klair had actually done quite well, the calm tactician in Kel had to admit. She had cornered the mage in a little hollow, with rough, stony cliffs rising nearly vertically on three sides in hem him in, and Klair herself, with her arrows on the fourth.

"How you doing?" Kel murmured quietly, from behind Klair. The older woman jumped a foot in the air. She had been so intent on her quarry she hadn't noticed Kel's steathly approach. Kel expected to see anger in here cold eyes at being so caught out, but there was only naked fear, and, she was astonished to see, relief.

"Lady Knight!" Klair gasped. "He's there, by that big outcrop of stone, but I can't get close enough for a clean shot. He'll blast you - that's what happened to Wolset." Kel noticed the sooty smears and dark red burn marks on Klair's right cheek and neck for the first time.

"It's ok…He knows you're here, so stay and keep his attention, fire some shots but don't worry about hitting him. I'll sneak closer on his flank and try for a clear shot." She moved to leave.

"The others…" Klair breathed, casting a paniced glance up at her commander.

"The sooner we finish here, the sooner we can get back." Kel answered shortly. Klair gulped and swallowed before turning back. _I wonder how much of an act she's been putting on, _Kel wondered as she headed away. _She seems really worried now. Or maybe she just can't hide it as well as I can._

Klair took a few deep breaths before steadying her aim loosing an arrow. It rebounded off some rocks, but drew a flash of blue tinged flame in her direction. She felt the heat of it, but less intensely than previous bursts. She hoped the mage was losing power, because Kel's movements were hideously obvious to her. One glance and the mage could flame her off the face of the earth. She sent another arrow in his general direction, and prayed.

Kel had reached what she thought might be a good spot. She could see the back of the mage, hear him muttering to himself. Slowly she brought her bow up, placed an arrow, and drew the string back to her ear. She eased herself upright, drew a breath and held it as she made sure of her aim. She would only get one go at this, the mage would kill her before she had a chance to reach into her quiver for a second arrow. She breathed out, and loosed.

The arrow tore over the intervening distance, hitting the mage square in the back, just to the left of the spine, over the heart. He dropped to his knees, and crumpled back. He must have been working on some spell just before he was shot, for some sphere of midnight blue light still glowed in his lap. Kel couldn't quite see what it was…

…Klair could see something in the mage's lap, flaring and sparking in blue and silver, held between his dying hands. She had seen explosion spells like this only once before; they were rarely used because they drew so much power the mages' life was often endangered. This one must have benefited from the entire life force of the Scanran, as well as his magic. It seemed to be sparking and flickering with of its own accord, and growing in size…

"Keladry!" Klair stood and screamed with all her might, forgetting her own danger, with only the knowledge that one of her comrades, and therefore her mission, was in danger. "Get DOWN!"

Kel heard the cry and dropped instinctively, and the glowing blue ball went nova, sending raw magic and flames scorching across the hollow. Kel felt the top of her head burn as her buried her face in the cold leaf litter. Klair, a little further away, was still knocked flying by the blast, shedding arrows and bow as she hit the bole of a tree feet behind her.

The blast was clearly obvious at the remains of the Scanran camp.

"What the..?" Evin asked. He was bandaging Wolset's hand with strips of tunic, and looked over to Neal, who was forcing a potion he had had hidden in his belt purse between Dom's blood caked lips. "It must be Kel…"

"Should we go…?" Neal asked. He tucked a blanket round Dom, and threw a bough on the fire. He was pale and shivering with the draining of his Gift.

"I will." Evin tied off Wolset's bandage, clapped him on the shoulder, then stood and hefted his sword. "We've accounted for the enemy. You stay with Dom and Wolset, Neal, and just yell if you so much as hear an owl hoot out of turn."

"Be careful, sir." Wolset said, voice hoarse with pain.

"Absolutely." Neal agreed. "You might be the only fit one left." He shivered again.

"Nonsense." Evin muttered, trying to keep the worry from his eyes. He strode off in the direction Kel and Klair had taken just minutes before.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello, strangers! I honestly haven't forgotten about this story, so here goes...**

Klair opened her eyes and saw stars. She took a second to realise this was not because she had knocked her head - although she had done that, too, by the ache in her skull - but because she was flat on her back and the night sky filled her vision. She watched them a while, bemused, and picked out the constellations of Goddess, and the Cat. They always made her think of someone, that boy…Domitan, that was it. She tried to remember why she had decided she was better off without him, a line of enquiry she normally kept suppressed at the back of her own mind. She wondered if she was concussed, for these thoughts to be floating free in her head. This consideration was shunted out of her mind by the sound of unsteady footsteps. Training and instinct bypassed her mind and acted directly on her muscles, causing her to roll onto her front and try to stand. A wave of vicious nausea coursed through her at the change of position, and as she retched, a pair of boots entered her line of vision, followed by the associated legs and body, as the figure crumpled to its knees next to her.

"Klair," it croaked, in a vaguely familiar voice. "Are you ok?"

"No." She replied honestly, sitting upright and looking up. Kel, that's who it was. Klair thought she didn't like her, but she didn't look very threatening at the moment. Her hair was singed and standing on end, and she was covered in mud and leaves. She looked sick, too; Klair could sympathise with that.

"You look awful." Kel said. "Have you hit your head?"

"Think so. Feel woozy. You look as bad as I feel." The bigger woman looked astonished at the joke, then laughed out loud for a second before clasping a hand to her ribs and wincing.

"You must have hit your head. Lets get back to camp." She took Klair's arm and helped her to her feet. They staggered, propping each other up, and started to walk.

"I hope we don't meet anyone else," Kel muttered, drawing her sword awkwardly and glancing around. "I feel weak as a kitten."

"I think a kitten could finish me off." Klair laughed, then groaned. "Head really sore now." She swayed on Kel's arm.

But before she could pass out again, Evin appeared from behind a copse of hazel trees, and together they carried her back to camp.

"She's really concussed, she was making jokes." Kel said.

"She's alive." Evin said shortly. "And that's not something everyone who started this mission can claim." At that, they both wondered silently if Liach was their only loss, or if Dom was closer to the Black God than his friends, now. They hurried as fast as they could back to camp.

"Sir Nealan?" Wolset's voice croaked. "Did you hear that?"

"Hmm?" Neal was frowning and staring at Dom, frantically searching his mind for anything else he might do for his cousin.

"That noise…"

But before Neal could start to worry about who might be sneaking up on them, Evin and Kel, with Klair supported between them, entered the clearing.

"You're alive!" Wolset and Neal called out at the same moment, relief flooding them.

"Just." Evin's mouth contorted briefly, into what might have been supposed to be a smile, but there was nothing but worry and pain in his expression. "You two ok? How's Dom."

"The same." Neal's voice was quiet. Evin laid Klair, still in her faint, down next to Dom, whilst Kel collapsed to her knees. She looked up into Neal's eyes, and her oldest friend could see the barely suppressed panic in them. He had never seen his Kel, his cool, in control Kel, look like that before. "There's nothing else I can do. I've given him the antidote potion we had, but he was exposed to such a huge concentration of Battle Fever, he needs a really powerful healer if he's to…" Neal paused, coughed. Kel could see the far and defeat in his eyes. "…if he's to live." Neal looked round his companions. "I'd not be enough, even if I had all my Gift. We have to get Dom - and Wolset, and Klair - to a powerful healer."

"Well." Kel had turned half away, and was feeding the fire, prodding it viciously to life. She was hoping the smoke would be blamed for the tears escaping down her cheeks. "That makes it easy. We have to head to Corus and fetch a healer. The mages and so on will need to study this place, and a fresh escort of soldiers, and so on. I'll go and retrieve the horses." She stood, but wobbled on legs that felt boneless and shaky.

"I don't know if any of us are fit to go anywhere at present." Evin stated. "I'll go and fetch the horses, and we should rest until first light, at least."

"No!" Kel shouted, louder than she had meant. "We need a healer, now, and as commander I shall fetch one."

"With respect, Commander, I can't let you put yourself in that much danger." His voice softened. "Kel, you can barely stand."

"I can't let them die at my feet." Kel whispered. "I have to go." There was a numb silence in the clearing, broken by the hooting of an owl close by.

"Better than I could ever do." Wolset made a weak attempt at a joke, to try and alleviate the tension. Kel turned and looked at him, at the ridged and livid burns on his face, the coarse bandages, about the remains of his hand. Her gaze slipped to the stirring Klair, over Liach's body, over the drained Neal and the exhausted Evin, eventually resting on Dom. She would leave for Corus now, or die in the attempt to help her friends. It seemed so clear to her, as if there were no other options, no choice in the matter. She set her shoulders and looked up at Evin.

"You said you would fetch the horses." It was a statement, rather than a request.

"Yes…" Evin replied, worried at Kel's steely tone.

"..and then I will head for Corus. I am the only one with a reputation for treason, it would be a dreadful shame if any of you started now by even _thinking_ of stopping me."

"I'll come, though." This was from Klair. She sat up and looked Kel in the eye. "You will travel faster and more safely with me scouting."

"True. Thank you." The Lady Knight looked at Evin and raised an eyebrow. "Are the horses coming by themselves?"

Evin shook his head. "I'm glad I'm a Rider and I can go back to my group. I swear I'll never work with Knights again." He pulled out a parade ground salute, smiled laconically, and turned to go.

"We're not all like her, you realise." Neal called after him. Kel snorted.

"Meathead, it could be worse, we could all be like you." This drew a chuckle even from Klair.


	14. Chapter 14

**As always, I would like to say all of the characters are from the world of Tamora Pierce. I just tweak them a little. In this chapter, however, a bit of the tweaking is inspired by some of the themes in the Discworld novels. **

It had taken, or so it seemed to Kel, an agonisingly long time for Evin to collect the horses and ponies, to prepare herself and Klair, and to set off towards Corus. Through her brief clean up, a pause to stuff some bread and dried meat in her mouth, a clap on the shoulder for Wolset, a handshake for Evin, a hug for Neal, all she could hear was the harsh breathing of the still unconscious Dom. It was all Kel could do to keep to her tasks, for the desperate noise seemed to jar against her nerves and bones; all she wanted to do was drop to his side and hold him, but her head keep her steady, she knew going to fetch help was the most useful thing she could do. It was harder to convince her heart of that, though.

Kel and Klair had been riding for an hour or so, and it was the coldest time of the night, that hour when midnight has past but dawn is still almost too far away to be believed. The moon and the stars cast an ethereal, silvery light that barely lit their way. The two woman had been riding in silence except for necessary instructions, exchanged in quiet, dull voices. They were exhausted and heart sore, the two of them, all alone in the deep forest in the dead of the night.

"Lady Knight?"

"Yes, Klair?"

"We'll skirt this hollow, keep to the high ground, and then we should have a good vantage point, over there." She indicated.

Kel nodded, once. "Lead on." Peachblossom trudged behind Klair's pony, who was still briskly jogging along, despite the days of heavy riding and this extended night. Klair herself was nearly motionless, her lower body moving easily with her mount's pace, only her eyes busy, taking in the surroundings. Kel half wondered if she was enjoying this. _But isn't it just the same as asking me if I enjoy battle, fighting? _she mused to herself, as she ducked under a low pine branch. _What matters most to each of us? Duty? Friends? Love? At the moment my duty to a comrade and my love are following the same path, so it's easy. What if they led in different directions?_

"Klair?" Kel called softly.

Klair pulled up her pony and swivelled in the saddle to look up at Kel. Her pony took a neat side step to avoid a nip from Peachblossom, who snorted quietly at such frustrations. Klair raised her eyebrows questioningly and looked Kel in the eye.

"What did happen between you and Dom?"

Klair's eyebrows rose a little higher, and she pursed her lips. She frowned, looked away, then sighed and looked back.

"You really want to know?"

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't."

"In this place, at this time? As he lies dying?"

"He won't die. And tell me as we ride, we won't lose time, if that's what you're worried about."

"I'm worried about missing things if I can't concentrate fully on the job on hand." She grumbled as she nudged her pony forward, but Kel felt the brittle fight had left her companion, that she would hear the truth now.

"We were lovers - you know that much, I'm sure - and it was good for a time. Very good; the best, in fact." She sighed. "I was promoted, to a special secret scout group, very elite, very prestigious. There was absolutely no question of not going…so I let Dom down. He was always a bit more serious about it all than me, but he took all very badly. So I was the bad one, the heartbreaker. The Ice Queen, the flint hearted bitch who plays fast and loose with other people's feelings; or so I hear; but I am dedicated to my work, and, well, I try to be the best. I believe I am the best."

"Being the best at your job is more important to you than love and friendship?"

"My skill to keep people safe and guided, my responsibility to the duty placed upon me. That's what is important. I can't float off in some fluffy dream of _love_.." she spat the word, "…and forsake the task entrusted to me. My vocation defines me." She added, more softly.

"To the exclusion of all else?"

"You know how it is. It doesn't matter what sex you are in the military, so long as you act like a man. The Lioness was the first in hundreds of years, she was Gods-touched, and yet even good-as -gold Keladry will have heard the tales that follow her." Klair looked back, eyebrows raised in query. Kel said nothing. "_You_ know. That she was the King's lover, and that's why she's champion. That she dredged her husband from the Corus slums, with witchcraft."

"That's not true." Kel said quietly.

"That's as maybe, but the men say it. It makes them feel better, because otherwise they have to accept a women is their equal on merit alone." Klair's voice was as cold as the night that surrounded them.

"But that's true. That's what I do. I work blessed hard at it, as well."

"Well, I work _blessed _hard. I work _cursed _hard, and I am the equal of any man - better than most - yet all they can mind of me are my romances. So I thought, _what matter more to me, at this point?_ And I chose this. Call me bitter, or cruel, or even stupid, but I made my choice. Others did as well. So will you."

"I have managed, so far, to be a Lady Knight, and the men don't say such things about me. At least," Kel paused, "I'm pretty sure they don't."

"But you haven't really been anything else yet. Not a lover, or a mother. Just a knight, so far. You try to be more than that, and still a woman."

"I just try to be me."

Klair pulled up, and looked into the other woman's eyes. "We don't all have that luxury." She sighed, shook her head. "Come on. If we crest that ridge I'll get a good look out, I'll plan the route from there, and the horses can graze a minute."

"Thank you, Klair." Kel said softly.

That's my job." She smiled a twisted little smile.

"You know what I mean."

The two woman rode along, a little less alone in the night.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I hadn't forgotten about this story, honestly. It sounds lame and old, but I really have had a lot to do in my real life. This is a bit of a bridging chapter, but I really do promise the nest updates won't be so long in coming!**

The morning was creeping into the little clearing, Neal realised, as he looked over his charges. The light now had a greyish, predawn quality to it, when before it was solely the flickering reddish orange of the firelight. It was welcome, in some ways, because it meant that this awful night was nearly over. In other ways, it marked the time since Kel and Klair had left, and, as the sun rose slowly, he could see ever more vividly the state of his companions. Neal sighed, drew a hand over his face, and turned to Wolset.

"How are you doing?" he asked quietly.

"Alright, sir."

"Now, soldier, I'll have you up on a charge if you keep telling me downright lies." Neal said solemnly, as he checked the bandage wound over the burned and maimed remains of Wolset's left hand. He tried to keep himself from grimacing, and added another layer to the dressing. "Keep it raised." He added a little more ointment to the burns on Wolset's face, then clapped him on the shoulder.

"Can you take a look a look at Dom, Nealan?" Evin's voice, quiet and dull, sounded softly from the other side of the fire. Neal stood to move round, trying to hide his stagger as he rose. He had never been so drained of magic; the combination of the sleep spells and the Golden Net he and Liach had conjured may have worked, but it had been too ambitious. He had no Gift to heal, when he needed it more than he had ever done before, and Liach was dead. Wolset was disfigured. And Dom….

"What is it, Evin?" Neal croaked as he semi-sat, semi-collapsed next to him.

"I think he's worse." Evin was uninjured, but he was exhausted and heart sore, Neal could see. There was a grey pallor to his skin, and his eyes were dull and sunk.

"Dom?" Neal asked softly as he examined his cousin. Dom was worse than any of them. The Battle Fever was affecting his whole body; he shivered from head to toe constantly, and was intermittently wracked with rough, moist coughs. Neal held him over on his side, so Dom could cough up some phlegm. It was blood stained. As he settled the unconscious man on his back, Neal caught Evin's eye.

"More coughing, and more blood." Evin stated. "I'm no healer, but even I can see him worsening. "Isn't there anything else you can do?"

Neal dabbed at Dom's chapped and blistered lips for a second. "I can't do anything. I gave him the pre-prepared antidotes we had. We have to wait for Kel and Klair to bring a healer. How do you think they are doing?"

Evin jabbed the fire with a stick, and it flamed palely in the gathering dawn light. "I've no idea. But I know they won't stop until they've brought help."

"I know that." Neal sighed. "But will it be soon enough?" Both men turned to gaze at Dom.

"I will not go and lie down! I am the commander of that mission and I am taking help to my men. Now! So bring me a fresh horse, a company of men and all the healers you can find! Now!"

The guard sergeant stared open mouthed at the soot stained, muddy, red eyed apparitions in front of him, and decided what ever was being demanded, it was certainly a request for a senior officer to deal with. He turned and ran up the hill to the palace. The corporal left at the post looked warily at Kel and Klair. Kel scowled back at him. She was about to open her mouth to shout again, when a small figure, jogging over from the stable block, caught her attention. Kel shut her mouth, looked at Klair for a second, and smiled.

"What on earth is going on her?" The Lioness demanded as she approached. "Who…" she paused, and recognition flooded he face. "Kel? The mission…what's going on?"

"Lady Alanna!" Kel gasped. "It's over, I mean, we've killed the Scanrans, the Fever, but they're injured… Wolset, Dom…" Her vision went blotchy for a second, and she leaned into Peachblossom's sweaty side. "We need reinforcement and healers, we came to lead you back."

"You are going nowhere, and that's an order." The Lioness placed a hand on Kel's temple, and said, "With your permission, I'll take the information I need direct from your mind." She frowned for a second, and a violet light gleamed where she touched Kel's skin. "Corporal!" she barked. The man jumped.

"Milady?" he quavered.

"Summon any knights, King's Own, and Riders you can. And send word to the Infirmary and the University. In my name. This minute!"

The man gaped for a second, then raced off.

"Lioness…" Klair chipped in. "You will need me to lead you. Or take the knowledge of the route from me."

"Yes…" Kel murmured. "Klair knows better than me."

Alanna scowled and twisted her fingers. The light died as she moved her finger's from Kel's temple.

"I'll lead the mission myself. Neither of you are in a fit state to go anywhere." She placed a hand to Klair's temple, and the colour of her magic began to loop round her finger again.

"No!" Kel gasped. "My men, I have to go back and help them. I promised I'd get help"

"And you have." The Lioness performed that curious twist with her finger again, and broke contact with Klair. She turned to look at Kel, craning her neck to catch the much taller woman's eye. "No-one could have done more than you just have. Let others help now."

"No.." But the blotches appeared in Kel's vision again, and she lost her train of thought. There was drumming in her ears, but when she opened her eyes, she realised it was a mass of people and horses coming down the hill towards them.

"No arguments." Alanna's voice was firm. "You, and you." She addressed two palace staff at the head of the group. "Get these two soldiers to the Infirmary, now. And you lot, take their horses." This was addressed at some pages further back.

"Lady Alanna…" Klair began.

"No arguments." She turned away, and started ordering soldiers, calling for supplies. Gentle hands supported Kel and Klair, capable, calloused hands took Peachblossom and Bazil away. Kel turned to try and object, but at this point the blotches came back with a vengance, and she remembered no more for a while.


	16. Chapter 16

The small rider on the tall golden dun horse urged him on recklessly through the bare forest. The mixed group of soldiers and knights did their best to keep up, and were glad when their leader paused on the crest of the hill. The horse's breath sent up steamy plumes in the chill morning air.

"Lioness?" The soldier called warily as he caught up with her. Her face was grim and set, and she gripped a stone hanging at her neck in a white knuckled hand. "Where next?"

She didn't spare him a glance. "Straight ahead, then bear left into that patch of oak woods on the flank of the hill. We must hurry." She dug her heels into her horse's side and disappeared down the hill. The man sighed, but turned to call orders to those behind him, before following the golden figure, glinting in the morning sun.

Neal rubbed his knuckles into his eyes until he saw stars. He blinked, shook his head, and looked at Dom again. There was no escaping it; his breathing was shallower, quicker, and when he coughed, Neal noticed the foam at the corner of Dom's lips was heavy with blood.

"This is it, isn't it, Sir?" Wolset asked quietly. "For the Sergeant…"

"No!" Neal gasped. "Kel will get help, and Dom will hang on. You know she wouldn't let Dom die…" With that last word, Wolset and Evin both looked at Neal for a long, sickening second. The tension between them was cut, suddenly, by a crash in the trees, and a thunder of hoof beats. The three men looked up, mouths agape, as the Lioness appeared.

"What are you two gawping at?" She snapped, swinging off her horse, and throwing the reins at Evin. She collapsed on her knees at the fireside, taking in Dom's condition in one long glance. "Battle Fever?" She asked her former squire, voice gruff and quiet.

"Yes. A concentrated dose…" Neal replied. "And my Gift is dry…can you?" The question hung in the air. Neal met those famous purple eyes, and saw steely determination.

"I will do what may be done." She closed her eyes, and violet fire began to build at her hands, streaming to Dom's body. Neal saw it flicker into Dom's nose and mouth, round his eyes, over his chest. He gripped Wolset's shoulder, then stood shakily to meet the soldiers as they trailed into the clearing. If Alanna couldn't heal Dom, then no one could.

Kel woke suddenly, and had no idea where she was or what time it might be. She was lying in a warm, dry, clean bed, with crisp linen sheets tucked tightly round her body. She tried to move her arms, then her legs, but the sheets were putting up some stiff resistance. With an effort of will, Kel extracted her limbs and stood up. She very quickly sat back down again, as the walls swum in front of her. The bed felt like a boat in heavy seas, rocking beneath her, for a few moments, but eventually the world stilled. She shook her head and smiled sadly. _I'm as weak as I've ever been, _she thought. At that point, the door in her small room opened, and a very familiar face appeared.

"Kel!" Neal cried. "You shouldn't be up, lie down this minute!" He flustered over her, tucking her back in.

"Neal, stop it, I'm fine." Kel began to protest.

"You are obviously not fine," he stated, drily. "You have been asleep for three days, completely exhausted…"

"No, but, Neal…"

"…burns, bruising, smoke inhalation…"

"Neal!" Kel barked, hoarsely. "What about the others?" At the Neal stopped fussing. He sat down on the bed and, Kel was terrified to see, took her hand. "Stop it, you're scaring me," she warned, a catch in her voice.

"Kel, Liach's dead. You knew that." Kel nodded, wordlessly. "And Wolset's hand, well, Father and Lady Alanna did their best, but half is gone." He swallowed. "Evin's alright, he's like me, just tired and battle worn. Klair is.."

"I know she's ok, I rode in with her…Dom?" Kel's voice was a whisper now.

"Dom was so ill, Kel, and Lady Alanna herself emptied her Gift into him…you know they had to tie her to Darkmoon to get her home?"

"So Dom's gone." Kel's voice was matter of fact, but she was screaming inside. She remember the thrilling touch of his lips on hers, and the loss of her love, lost as they only just discovered each other's feelings, twisted like an abyss at her centre.

"No, Kel." Neal squeezed her hand. "Dom's alive. I was saying, no one but the Lioness would have had the power to save him at that point. But she did. He's next door."

Kel looked at Neal. He was a little blurry, seen through the tears that had been gathering in her eyes. "Can I see him?"

Neal chuckled. "Of course." He lifted a robe from the end of the bed, helped her into it, helped her to her feet. "I've no idea why you'd want to see him, though."

That drew a laugh from Kel. The two knights made their way to the door.

Dom could feel pressure on his hand. The rest of him felt loose, like he was floating, but was that contact, that hold, on his right hand. It meant he could drift away - and he really would have liked to float off - but instead he sank back down, and paid a little more attention to his surroundings. He wished he hadn't. His chest was tight and sore, each breath felt torn from his lungs. His legs were heavy and aching. The hold on his hand had changed, from a simple pressure to a slow, stroking motion. There was also some noise, voices…He tried to pay attention.

"…Lioness just swept in, and took charge. The magic just poured from her; I mean, I've seen her do a lot, but nothing quite like this, just raw power. She chased the Battle Fever out of his body, mended his lungs. You fetched her only just in time, I don't know how you did it…"

By the Black God, had he woken up just for Meathead? Dom couldn't help but groan.

"Did you hear that? I think he's waking up. I'll go and fetch father, or Lady Alanna." Dom heard a door open and close. The pressure on his hand remained.

"Are you there, Dom? Wake up now. It's Kel."

"Kel?" Dom croaked. He forced his eyes open, and saw who hand been holding his hand, had pulled him back. "Kel, I thought I was dead."

"So did I." His love's voice was a hoarse whisper, but he could see her smile, and felt her stroke his face, run her fingers over his cracked lips. "I said it would take more than battles, mages, Scanrans and magical illnesses to keep me from you."

"You saved me, you fetched help…Kel, you know I love you."

"I do now. And you know I love you."

"Well, now we know."

Kel laughed. "It seems silly, that it takes the heat of battle before we know such things."

"Not really…we just see what's most important to us." Dom coughed, the noise harsh in the quiet little hospital room.

"Shush." Kel tucked the sheets closer about him, smoothed them. "We have all the time we need. Sleep now. I'll not leave."

So Dom slept, his hand in Kel's, and the smile never left the Lady Knight's lips.

**So that's all folks. Well, I might add an epilogue to tie up some loose ends, but I finally got them together. Hope you liked the journey.**


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